The present invention relates to digital imaging systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a digital imaging system including a multifunction lens.
Digital imaging devices capture a scene as an image defined by a set of digital values. The captured image (as a set of digital values) can be processed for various applications. For example, to improve the quality of reproduction, various processing techniques such as flicker correction and color balancing can be applied to a captured image. To apply these techniques, information is required regarding the lighting, or luminance, of the scene at the time the scene is captured by the imaging device.
To obtain the luminance information, a light meter can be used to measure the light impinging upon the image. However, the light meter, as a separate device, does not measure the luminance of the scene at the exact instant that the scene is captured. Further, the luminance information obtained by the light meter is not immediately available to the imaging device. Some imaging devices include a built-in luminance metering system including a luminance detector and a luminance detector lens system. In such devices the luminance detector and the luminance detector lens system are separate from the main imaging sensor and imaging lens. According, the addition of the luminance detector and the luminance detector lens system to the imaging device increases costs of manufacture, increases bulk to the imaging system, and decreases reliability of the imaging system due to having additional components
Consequently, there remains a need for an improved luminance detection system for imaging devices.